US researchers have, in a study on Monday, found a link between hidden belly fat, known as visceral fat, and abnormal proteins in the brain -- hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.
Visceral
fat refers to the accumulation of fat around internal organs such as the liver,
heart, kidneys, and the mesentery of the intestine. Unlike subcutaneous fat,
which lies beneath the skin, visceral fat is metabolically active and poses
greater health risks.
The
study, presented at the ongoing annual meeting of the Radiological Society of
North America (RSNA), showed that visceral fat can predict the risk of
Alzheimer's up to 20 years before the earliest symptoms of dementia appear.
The
study included 80 cognitively normal midlife individuals (average age: 49.4
years), of which about 57.5 per cent were obese, and the average body mass
index (BMI) of the participants was 32.31.
Researchers
from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri
examined the association of BMI, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, liver fat
fraction, thigh fat, and muscle, as well as insulin resistance and HDL (good
cholesterol), with amyloid and tau deposition in Alzheimer's disease.
A
higher level of visceral fat was related to increased amyloid -- accounting for
77 per cent of the effect of high BMI on amyloid accumulation.
Other
types of fat did not explain obesity-related increased Alzheimer's pathology,
the team said.
"Our
study showed that higher visceral fat was associated with higher PET levels of
the two hallmark pathologic proteins of Alzheimer's disease -- amyloid and
tau," said lead study author Mahsa Dolatshahi, post-doctoral research
associate at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) at Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.
The
study also showed that higher insulin resistance and lower HDL were associated
with high amyloid in the brain. The effects of visceral fat on amyloid
pathology were partially reduced in people with higher HDL.
The
team urged for lifestyle modifications to reduce belly fat and cut down the
development of Alzheimer's disease.
"This
study goes beyond using BMI to characterize body fat more accurately with MRI
and, in so doing, reveals key insights about why obesity can increase risk for
Alzheimer's disease," Dr. Dolatshahi said.
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